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JOHN PERKINS, OF PLAI FIELD- NEW JERSEY.

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.Letters Patent No. 76,244, dated March 31, 1868.

COMPOUND FABRIC FOR COVERING WALLS, 6m.

TO ALL WHOM IT. MAY CONCERN:

Be it knowndhat I, JOHN M. PERKINs of Plainfield, county of Union, and State of New Jersey, have invented a new anduseful Improved Compound Fabricfor Covering .Walls and other purposes; and I hereby declare the following to be a clear and exact description of the same, which will enableithe publicfully to understand my invention, and those skilled in the art to construct and use it.- p

I take a thin lamina of wood, which has been cut from the logfby the processof turning or other means, and apply to one side thereof paper-pulp or paper sheets, cloth, or any textile fabric, by the means of pressure, or by the intervention of any adhesive substance; and when my compound fabric is completedl apply it-to the interior walls of habitations, and as acomponndveneering for furniture, for the purpose of ornamenting the same, and for other purposes. A v i In manufacturing my compound covering, I prefer to feed the lamina upon the pulp of a paper-making machine before the pulp reaches the first press-rolls, and thence under the press-rolls, in such a manner that the pulp is evenly laid upon the saidlamina, and attached thereto by being pressed into and intimately blended with the grain of said lamina, as the two are passed through and between the said rolls, as well as sccuringt'he adhesive properties .of the size contained in the pulp.

The compound material is then run, over drier s, as is usual in the manufacturing of paper,'and when dried I run it through a set of rolls or calender-s, for the purpose of securing smoothness to both surfaces, and solidity of the compound.

To secure a highly-polished surfaceto the wooden lamina, I sometimes apply sizing thereto, and prefer to arrange my calenders or rolls in such a manner as to secure friction, or what is known as slipping, and am enabled to increase the polish by heating the calenders.

In using paper or textile materials, I unite the same to the lamina by the intervention of any glutinous or adhesive material, and subsequently dry-calender and polish, when deemed desirable.

By the use of this-backing or lining of paper-pulp, paper, or textile fabric, I afiord a support to the lamina,- which renders it susceptible of being handled and hung upon walls, or attached to furniture, in. the usual mansex, without liability of separation,.fracturc, or injury; and I present a surface to the action of the paste or other adhesive material applied in the process of hanging, more porous, and susceptible of a more perfect and secure union with the walls against which the covering is placed, than can possibly be attained without the inter vention of the said lining, thereby securing it against the liability of warping or peeling under continual use, or when exposed to varying temperatures; while by the employment of calender-rolls, so arranged as to secure friction or slipping, I am enabled to polish effectually the wooden surface, during the process ofmanui'acture;

I do'not, however, confinc myself to the use of the-rolls, as I am enabled to accomplish the intimate union of the-two materials, by the employment of pressure in any convenient manner. I

' My compound fabric being intended to be manufactured inlargc quantities, and kept for sale by'rvmerchants, and shipped to remote sections, is preserved intact, and not subject to the injury from handling which would result from the shipment or handling of unprotected veneers.

It is necessary to moisten my compound fabric, as well'as all wooden lamina, before unrolling it, prepare, tory to applying it to the walls, as, when dry, the wood is liable to crack in the act of unrolling it. l 1'ind,. therefore, that it is proper to roll it up for transportation, in all cases, with the woody side outward, in order thatthe fabric may be the more readily saturated, as well as more easily inspected by the purchaser. Ifind, also, that my compound fabric, as wellas all wooden lamina, should be rolled lengthwise of the g rain'of the Wood; that is to say, in forming the roll, the grain of the wood should run around the roll, and not in the opposite directiom'as otherwise the frailty of the lamina, and its tendency to contract upon itself, renders itdifiicult to unroll it without separating the fibres or cracking it tit-frequent intervals. When so rolled, however, that the grain of the wood runs around the roll, the elasticity .of the wood, and its tendency to straighten when released from its confining string or wrapper, afiords considerable assistance in the process of unrolling, thus avoiding the necessity of moistening the lamina.

By turning the laminafroin a log of great length, I am enabled to produce hangings of such length, run

ning lengthwise of the grain of the log, as to give to the room clothed therewith, the appearance of solid walls of ornamental or costly woods-a thing never before accomplished with wooden lamina, which has heretofore been hung on walls with itlie grain of the wood running laterally instead of vertically, the vertical hanging being essential to meet the requirements for the adornment of tastefully-constructed dwellings.

I do not claim, simply, a covering-for plaster walls, o'fsheets of wood, as a substitute for house-paper; nor do I claim enamelliiig lamina of wood, or uniting it with paper for the construction of card-hoards for printing purposes; but i i What I claim as new, and desire to'seeure by Letters Patent of LllB'UIllCOll States, is-

1. A compound faloric, composed either oflamiha of me and paper, or lamina ol wood and paper-pulp, or lamina of wood and some textile material, for covering and decorating walls or furniture, prepared,-employed, and preserved fiominjui'yn'hile being handled or transported, in the mzinn er and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. Preserving thin lamina of wood, or any compound thereof, from liability to injury, and securing ease and freedom in unrolling the same, by forming the rolls in such a. manner that the grain of the wood shall run in the direction of and around the roll, substantially as described.

' JOHN M. PERKINS.

Witnesses FRANK FULLER, MIcHL Connor. 

